Okay, so, this is an unusual picture book, and it honestly won't appeal to everyone. I enjoyed it, but it's difficult to say why, or to describe the book. The illustrator tells a story of a girl named Pauline, inspired by the Gertrude Stein poem A Little called Pauline, and the results are interesting, open to interpretation, and intended to inspire children to read poetry and play around with the imagery that pops into their heads. The poem itself, well.... I have no idea what it means, which is okay; some kids may not be okay with the lack of sense and rhyme, and some kids will groove on the flow of words and stream of consciousness going on. The artwork tells one story, but the imagery of the poem might bring a different story to mind, and that, I think, is the point of this book, to take some of the intimidation out of poetry.

#ALittleCalledPauline #NetGalley

A perfectly weird poem set to the exact perfectly weird illustrations it needed. Poetry doesn't always make sense but paired with these beautiful illustrations it can. Ages 5 and up.

This was my first experience of Gertrude Stein and I’m really glad I read the ‘blurb’ first! The beautiful illustrations by Bianca Stone really helped me to make a story out of the words, but this didn’t always fit with the images the words on the page created in my head. I wonder whether children will engage with this – after all, they are less bound by the strictures of word-meanings than adults are – but in any case, I think they will love the images and will be able to create their own story from those.

An interesting experience and not what I was expecting at all. I don’t think I would seek out more of Stein’s work, but I’m glad I read it!

I loved the pictures in the book. They seem to tell a warm story of a child, but the it's hard to tell from the words. The words are confusing and don't seem to make a lot of sense.I'm afraid it would be too confusing for the kids who are only just getting comfortable with words. I don't understand Gertrude Stein enough to be able to help them out. It would be a nice present for someone who is familiar with Gertrude Stein, but for my purposes, it would not be a useful book to have.

I have no idea how to fairly late this picture book that’s based on Gertrude Stein’s poem “A Little Called Pauline” from her 1914 book of poetry, Tender Buttons. The short poem is incomprehensible to most adults. No child can understand it. On the other hand, I give poet-artist Bianca Stone gets an “A” for effort for doing her best to turn this enigma of a poem into a picture book. The illustrations will delight any child, and the book “tells” a story through the pictures even if the target child cannot understand the poem at all. Which they won’t.

So, I’m giving Stone a five for effort and illustrations, balanced by a one for Stein’s accessibility. That leads to a compromise three stars.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Penny Candy Books in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, you have to know a little about Gertrude Stein and her poetry (and life) to appreciate this very odd little picture book! If you are a fan of Ms. Stein and get her fanciful way with words, then this creative little book will please you. I'd recommend reading the end notes with kids first, as they explain who Gertrude Stein was, talk a tiny bit about her fascinating life, and explain that the book is one of her poems and yes, that really is a poem. Talk about what she may have meant with the lines that read like gibberish, and then encourage them to try it too.

Colorful, strange, happy little illustrations match the text well.

I read a temporary ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

A Little Called Pauline by Gertrude Stein with Bianca Stone is based on Stein's poetry, circa 1914. This is an interesting revitalization of Ms Stein's work, and a lovely story about the bond between a daughter and her mother. While I did enjoy this version myself, with its beautiful illustrations and clever play on language, I am unsure of this one striking a chord with children. I sincerely hope that it will find an audience, however, as it is something quite fresh and unique to the genre.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penny Candy Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.